Rail-brace.



L. SANCETTA.

RAIL BRACE.

APPLICATION F|LD1uNE29,191s.

1,201.,353. Patented' 001;. 17,1916.

Witnesses Attorneys LEE SANCETTA, OF HIGI-IBANK, TEXAS.

RAIL-Banen.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 17, 1916.

Application filed June 29, 1916. Serial No. 106,684.

To all flo/1,0m it may concern Be it known that I, LEE SANCETTA, a citi- Zen of the United States, rcsiding at Highbank, in the county of Falls and State of Texas, have invented a new and useful Rail- Brace, of which the following is a speciiica tion.

rlhe present invention appertains to rail braces, and aims to provide a novel and improved means for bracing the rails of a railroad track, whereby the rails are effectively held in place, to enhance the safety of the trains, the present device being readily applied and removed, being simple and ineX- pensive in construction, being useful in connection with rail joints, and being thoroughly efficacious and practical in use.

Vith the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure l is a plan view of a portion of a railroad track showing the braces applied thereto, portions being broken away and others being shown in section. Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross section on the line 2;-2 of Fig. l, portions being broken'away and removed.

In the drawing, the rails are designated at l and are secured by means of spikes or otherwise upon the usual cross ties 2. The fish plates of the rail joints are designated at 3, and are clamped adjacent their ends to the webs of the'rails by bolts 4 engaged through the fish plates and rail webs, the

' rail joints being in staggered arrangement.

It is preferable to provide one of the transverse brace rods 5 for each rail joint, the alternate brace rods being in reversed positions due to the staggered arrangement of the rail joints. One terminal of the rod 5 is engaged through the rail at one side between the ends lthereof and the other terminal of the rod extends between the adjacent ends of the opposite rails and through the fish plates 8 between the ends thereof, and the last mentioned terminal of the rod 5 has a T-head 6 disposed longitudinally and bearing against the outer fish plate 3. The terminals of the head G have inwardly projecting bolts 7 insertiblethrough apertures provided in the fish plates `and rail webs between Vthe bolts 4L, and nuts 8 or other retaining elements are engaged upon the inner ends of the bolts 7 for clamping the fish plates between the nuts S and T-head 6. Nuts 9 are threaded upon the remote terminal of the rod 5 and bear against the web of the re spective rail, whereby the rod 5 will tie the rails together, to brace them and to prevent the rails from spreading. The T-head 6 and its bolts 7 also serve to connect the adjacent ends of the respective rails, to increase the efliciency of the rail joint. It is evident that when the nuts 8 and 9 are removed, the rod 5 can be readily applied and removed by a transverse movement. Thus, in applying the brace rod 5, the same is inserted transversely through the proper apertures in the rails, and the bolts 7 pass through their apertures when the rod 5 is moved home, the inner nut 9 being applied to the rod 5 before it is moved into final position. After the rod 5 is in place, the other nut 9 and the nuts S are applied, and the nuts are tight,- ened whereby to hold the rails at the proper distance apart according to the track gage. The braces can be applied to the rails either. at or between the joints. Vhen the braces are applied, they will reinforce the track, and prevent the spreading or displacement of the rails.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

.1.. A brace rod whose terminals are engageable through opposite rails of a track, said rod having a T-head at one end provided with inwardly projecting portions engageable through one rail.

2. A brace rod whose terminals are engageable through opposite rails of a track, said rod having a T-head at one end provided with inwardly projecting bolts engageable through onerail, securing elements engageable with said bolts, and a pair of securing elements engageable with the brace rod adjacent the other terminal thereof.r

3. The combination with a pair of rails having adjacent ends, an opposite rail, and

a rail joint connecting the adjacent ends of the first mentioned rails, of a transverse brace rod extending through the rail joint between the adjacent ends of the first mentioned rails and having its other terminal engaged through the second mentioned rail, means carried by the brace rod engaging the second mentioned rail, said rod having a T- head bearing against the outer side of the rail joint and provided with inwardly projecting portions engaging through said joint.

4. rl"he combination with a pair of rails having adjacent ends, fish plates joining said adjacent ends of the rails together, and an opposite rail, of a transverse brace rod having one terminal engaged. through the sh plates between the adjacent ends of the first mentioned rails and having its other terminal engaged through the second mentioned rail, the first mentioned terminal of the rod having a T-head resting against the outer fish plate and provided'at its ends with inwardly projecting bolts engaging through the fish plates and first mentioned rails, securing elements engaged upon said bolts and bearing against the inner fish plate, and

a pair of' securing elements engaged uponthe rod adjacent the second mentioned terminal thereof and bearing against opposite sides of the second mentioned rail.

ln testimony that l claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aiiixed my signatureA in the presence of two witnesses.

LEE SANCETTA. Vitnesses W. F. TURNER, C. O. Moolen.

Copies o! this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, '.D. C. 

